After 24 hits and 22 runs scored, the Lawrence Softball team swept Alverno College April 4. In the first game, the offense was led by Cathy Kaye who went 4-for-5 with a home run, two runs batted in and two runs scored. Carli Gurholt, who went 3-for-3 with a homer, drove in three runs and scored a pair of runs. Emily Perish was 3-for-4 and drove in three runs. Perish also led the defense by pitching the first five innings. In the second game, Shannon Murray led the offense by going 3-for-5 and driving in three runs for the Vikings. She also went the distance on the mound to pick up the win.
Last weekend, the softball team continued their winning streak with the first two games of the Midwest Conference Classic Tournament in Janesville, Wisc., In their first game of the tournament, the Vikings defeated Knox College 12-4 in five innings. Shannon Murray was one of five Lawrence players to pick up a pair of hits against the Prairie Fire.
Murray went 2-for-3 with two doubles and three runs batted in. Katie Simonsen went 2-for-3 and drove in a game-high four runs. Kaye and Alissa Geipel both went 2-for-4 with a double and Kaye also knocked in two runs. Perish also went 2-for-3 and pitched all five innings to pick up the win.
In the second game against Illinois College, the team rallied for a 6-4 victory. The Vikings began the game with an early two-run deficit, but they scored in each of the final five innings for the win.
Murray was a key component to the victory. She allowed only eight hits, struck out four and walked four while on the mound. The offense was powered by freshman Brielle Bartes who went 3-for-4, Gurholt who was 2-for-4, and Perish who went 2-for-3 for the Vikings.
The winning streak ended against Lake Forest College with a 14-5 loss. Lawrence grabbed an early 5-2 lead against Lake Forest with three runs in the first inning and two more in the second. But, that was not enough to keep the Foresters away. Murray went 3-for-4 and drove in four runs to pace the Vikings, while Geipel went 2-for-3 with a double, and Kaye was 2-for-2. They went on to play Monmouth College, where they were defeated 7-4 by the Scots. Kaye, Gurholt, Perish and Mary Diduch each batted in a run.
In their last and final game in the MWC Classic tournament, the Vikings got back on track with a 9-2 victory over Grinnell College. Geipel led the offense with four runs, Kaye had two, while Alex Chiodo, Bartes and Simonsen each had one run apiece. Perish pitched for the Vikings and took the win.